Well I said this a while back but Marvel actually has a pretty good relationship with both Fox and Sony. They feel somewhat indebted to them seeing as they basically bailed them out from having to declare bankruptcy in the 90's.

That's why they haven't really aggressively pursued a lot of these franchises back into their grip. However as Disney's influence spreads over Marvel those ties will soon become a thing of the past.

I thought Toy Biz bought Marvel at this time, and that's what got them out of the bankruptcy thing...and gave Avi control of these characters...